Shinobi in Nerima
by marshalanime
Summary: With Kushina's health being poor for most of Naruto's childhood his training is left to Genma. Now that he's older and Kushina's health has improved a new problem has arrived in the form of clan restoration. For her own sanity Kushina plans on finding her son a fiance, or two, or ten. She just has to convince Naruto that it's a good idea.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, Marshalanime here. Ranma 1/2 is one of those series that I've been recommend but for one reason or another I just never got around to checking out, that is until now! It started out simple enough, I saw the first season for sale while shopping and picked it up on a whim, to which I quickly fell in love with the series. Now, I have only watched the first season of the anime so I may not be aware of anime exclusive characters and stories, but I did go on to read the manga. So if I miss anything from the anime try not to be too upset.**

 **This is going to be a harem story, and yes, Ranma is a girl in this story.**

 **I hope you all enjoy the story!**

 **(Marshalanime does not own Naruto or Ranma 1/2)**

With long red hair that reached her ankles, a slender, feminine build, and violet eyes a woman who could easily be described as beautiful walked into a small coffee shop that she had noticed while walking along the street. It had been raining earlier that morning and only now was the sun shining with full force as she walked up to the counter. Once at the counter the woman made a simple order, a single cup of coffee.

"Kushina? Kushina!" the woman heard as she exited the shop. Looking to the side a smile crossed Kushina's face as she saw a girl wearing Chinese-styled clothes with bright red hair tied into a pigtail running towards her. Coming up behind the red haired girl was quite the odd sight for the populous of Nerima, a panda.

"Ranma, Genma, I wasn't expecting to see you two until I got to Soun's" the red haired woman said as the two of them came to a stop next to her.

"That's where we're headed right now" the girl told her. With a few blinks however the young woman noticed that something was off. Without moving her legs Ranma tilted at the hip as she looked around older woman. "Hey, where's Naruto?" Ranma asked, still tilt to the side as she glances up at Kushina.

As she answered that Kushina turned to continue on to Soun Tendo's home, "He took off a little bit ago, he's probably at the dojo by now".

Within the training hall of the Tendo dojo knelt a young woman with long, dark blue hair tied off at the end with a yellow ribbon that matched the light yellow gi she was wearing. With her body focused the girl raised her hand up and then swiftly swung down, breaking through the pair of cinderblocks she had set up in front of her.

"Phew! That felt pretty good" the girl openly said, very pleased with herself.

"It sure looks like it did" the girl heard someone say. With an ever so slightly surprised expression the girl tilted her head up. In the doorway of the training hall stood a blond girl about her age tossing a chunk of cinderblock up and down in her right hand. Her hair was spiky and came down to just past her shoulders, and was kept out of her blue eyes with the help of a black headband. Her orange and black jacket was open, showing that she wore a black shirt underneath as well as displaying the curves of her body better than the jacket would've, unintentionally or not. Her pants were also orange and her shoes consisted of black, open toed sandles. It was also notable that adorning each of her cheeks were three whisker like marks.

"Who are you?" the girl asked as she stood up, her eyes locked onto this stranger. Being that this was a dojo it wasn't out of the question that this girl was here for a challenge.

"Name's Naruto" Naruto said with a friendly smile as she pocketed the piece of debris she'd been tossing around. "What about you? You are apart of the Tendo family, right?" the blond asked as she walked further into the dojo, looking around the place as she did.

"Yes, I am. My name is Akane Tendo" Akane told the blond as she adopted a fighting stance. "Are you here to issue a challenge?" the girl questioned, only to get a look of confusion as the blond turned her head back to her.

"Challenge?" Naruto asked with a slight tilt of her head. "Mom knows the guy who owns this place, Soun I think his name was. We were coming by to visit, I just got here before she did" Naruto told the girl, now getting a consisted look from Akane.

'One of dad's friends?' Akane thought as she dropped her stance. Stepping over the broken cinderblocks she began to apologize, only to regain her confusion when Naruto took a fighting stance of her own.

"What? I said mom wasn't here yet, might as well pass the time with a sparing match. What do a say?" Naruto suggested.

Seeing the blond's grin Akane's confused expression faded in favor of a smirk as she once more shifted into a fighting stance. "I'll try to go easy on you" Akane told her new blond acquaintance, full of confidence.

"I wouldn't recommend that" Naruto told her before moving forward, quickly closing the distance between them. On reflex Akane's head jerked to the side, avoiding Naruto's first strike as her hand moved harmlessly through a few strands of hair.

'She's fast, really fast' Akane thought to herself as she readied her own fist. Holding back might not be an option with that level of speed, she didn't even see the blond through her arm out.

As Akane threw her punch Naruto arm came up to block it with her forearm. 'She's got some strength behind that punch, but...' Naruto thought as Akane pulled her arm back while launching another strike with her other fist. '...She's not really all that quick' the blond thought as she easily moved and shifted around Akane's blows. Though to be fair, it's not that Akane was slow but that Naruto had gotten use to fighting opponents who could move much faster than the girl.

In response to Akane's speed Naruto's own movements slowed down in her desire to see what Akane could do. Throwing her own blows again Naruto observed as her opponent started to doge and block her moves. It wasn't the heart pounding, limit pushing fight Naruto had hoped she might find with this young woman, but none the less their sparing match was enjoyable.

As the two of them continued to throw punches and kicks a sudden flash from the doorway caught Naruto's attention, resulting in a full force punch from Akane striking her cheeks when she attempted to see what had happened. After Naruto landed on the floor a few feet away, her cheek already swelling up she got the chance to see what had distracted here. Tilting her head up she was able to see a new face standing in the doorway. This girl had chin-length brown hair that was in a bob cut, wore a loose fitting green shirt with a pink undershirt to maintain her modesty should the green one slipped down to far, her white short shorts left her legs on full display, and in her right hand was a camera.

"Are you okay?" Akane asked as she stood over the blond she'd laid flat with her punch. Fortunately Naruto wasn't so fragile that a single, albeit powerful, punch would keep her down.

"I'm fine!" Naruto told the girl as she hopped bak onto her feet. "I've been hit pretty hard more than once in my life" the blond said with a big grin on her face, her arms coming up to rest behind her head.

"Finally found a friend who loves to throw a punch more than finding a date, huh Akane" the girl standing in the doorway asked, getting her sister's attention.

"Sorry that my live doesn't revolve around boys!" Akane responded with an annoyed look on her face.

"That so? Then I guess this wouldn't interest you" the girl with the camera said as she turned around and started walking to the house next to the dojo.

Walking up to the doorway the two of them watched the girl go before Naruto finally asked "Am I missing something?".

Following Akane Naruto was lead to a room that looked out over the koi pound in the back yard, there sat Akane's older sisters, Nabiki, the one who taken the photo, and Kasumi, the oldest of the trio and a woman who looked like a young housewife. Sitting opposite from them was their father, Soun Tendo, a man with shoulder length black hair and a mustache. Apparently he had called his daughters together to inform them that one of his old friends was bring their son over so that one of them could be selected to become his fiance.

"Fiance...?" Kasumi questioned after her father's initial explanation. It was so sudden that it almost felt like she'd misheard him.

"Yes, the son of a very god friend of mine. His name is Naruto Uzumaki. If one of you three girl's were to marry him and carry on this training ha-" Soun was telling them when Akane cut him off.

"Hey, wait a minute!" the girl loudly said, getting her families attention. Aside from the whole mess of this fiance nonsense the fact still remained that she'd already met this Naruto guy and he wasn't exactly a guy. "Naruto's a girl!" Akane told them as he stretched out her arm towards Naruto who had been sitting off to the side.

Naruto had listened right along with the Tendo sisters, and like them this was all new information for her. As such she'd frozen up like she'd seen a ghost the moment she'd heard the man talk about marriage and fiances, mentally praying that this was all some kind of weird joke.

"You're... Naruto...?" Soun questioned with a look of disbelieve written all over his face. He had just assumed this girl was one of Akane's friends but if she really was Naruto then that would mean... that would mean...

As Soun and his two eldest daughters were coming to the same conclusion Ranma slid into view of the entrance. "What do you mean fiance!?" the girl demanded, surprising the Tendo family as she ran up to Soun and grabbed his gi tightly. "Why's he gotta marry one of your daughters, huh old man!?" Ranma questioned as she shook the man back nd forth.

It would seem that this situation was about to boil over as Akane got up to help her father and Naruto finally snapping back to reality at the sudden entrance of his red haired friend. As the blond got up to intercept Akane and try and calm down Ranma her steps became stumbles at the sudden feeling of hot coffee being poured over her head.

"Sorry if we're a bit late, we got caught up on the way here" Kushina apologized with a warm smile, gaining everyone's attention as they stopped to look at the woman. Though their attention soon shifted to the blond under her empty cup.

Spinning around on the spot the now taller and flat chested blond confronted his mother, "What's the big idea picking out a fiance for me?!"

"Big idea?" Kushina questioned, her hands coming to rest on her hips as a stern expression came over her face. "These are the big idea!" the woman told him as she reached into her pack and pulled out a small scroll. Unraveling the parchment the woman released the seal inside it, knocking down and burying her son in papers, stunning all present.

Sitting up Naruto picked up the first paper his hand touched and brought it up to his face. "What's this suppose to be?" the blond asked as he looked over the document. From what he could tell it was some profile of some girl he'd never met.

"These, are all marriage propositions" Kushina told the blond.

"Someone's popular" Nabiki remarked as her, Kasumi, and Akane leaned over a little more in order to get a better look as Naruto started to rummage through them, getting more frantic with each new paper.

Letting go of Soun's gi Ranma rushed over to Naruto, dropping down next to him as she started to go through them as well. "How many of these things are there!?" Ranma wondered after looking over half a dozen, eventually growing frustrated and crumpling up each new paper she grabbed.

"We stopped counting them a while ago" Genma told her as he walked into the room. No longer a panda the man had a stocky build, wore a white gi, light blue bandana over his bald head, and a pair of glasses with a frame that wrapped around his ears.

"The Hokage's advisors have been sending them nonstop for months. They're adamant that you find a wife and carry on the Uzumaki bloodline and I'm at my wits end trying to deal with it all. So please, pick at least one of Soun's daughters so we never have to see another marriage proposition!" Kushina said, almost begged in a way.

For a moment Naruto just sat there, staring at the paper in his slightly trembling hands. Sure, Naruto wanted a family of his own at some point, a loving wife, a few kids, but for gods sake he was only sixteen! How could they expect him to just pick a fiance at his age?

Opening his mouth to voice his frustration the blond found that Akane had beat him too it. "What do you think you're doing, deciding out future on your own! Don't we get a choice in you we're going to marry!?" Akane blurted out as she pushed herself up from the short table.

"Yeah! What if Naruto doesn't want to marry any of these girls?" Ranma added as well.

"I'm not getting married!" Naruto chirped in as he tore up the paper in his hand.

Hearing them Kushina's firm stance seemed to falter slightly. She loved her son more than anything in the world and she wanted nothing more than his happiness. If she thought these girls weren't fit for her darling baby boy she'd cut the engagement off immediately, but surely her friend raised his daughters properly. She just had to help Naruto see their appeal.

"Engagement and marriage aren't the same thing. If it doesn't work out then we'll cut it off before the wedding" Kushina told them, hoping a softer approach will be more convincing. After all, if she new her son then trying to force him into this will only backfire.

"Kushina! You promised me that your son would marry-" Soun was vehemently saying to the woman when a single glare from her had him closing his mouth. "As Kushina was saying, there's no need to rush into this. Take your time and get to know one another" Soun told his daughters, having a miraculous change of mind under Kushina's watchful gaze.

"That's fine and all, but can someone explain why he showed up at our house as a girl?" Nabiki asked with an incredulous look, bringing that little shock back to the foreground of her families mind.

With their eyes coming to land on Kushina the woman figured now was as good of time as any. It had to be easier than convincing Naruto to pick out a fiance and so she took a seat and started to tell them about how they ended up in Jusenkyo and of the curses that now afflicted Naruto and Genma.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again. This chapter is a little shorter than I'm really comfortable with. Hopefully I'll never make a chapter shorter than this on in the future and I'll do my best to make them longer as well. That aside, I do hope you all enjoy the chapter.**

 **(Marshalanime does not own Naruto or Ranma 1/2)**

"Here, honored customers we come to famous training ground of cursed springs, Jusenkyo" a bald man brown clothes and a darker brown hat with a single star told the group of for as he pulled out a sing reading Jusenkyo. Behind the man stood were numerous springs of various shapes and sizes with tall pillars of rock and vegetation that surrounding the area.

"Are you prepared?" Genma asked as his eyes turned to his daughter and Kushina's son.

"Ah, this place ain't near as bad as I thought it'd be" Ranma said as she took off her pack.

"Yeah, I was expecting something a bit more with a name like that" Naruto commented as he tossed his pack to the ground beside him.

"Ewh, customers are very strange ones, no? This place is a very dangerous. Nobody use it now because there over one-hundred spring here and each on have own tragedy happen there" the Jusenkyo guide informed them. However, his customers didn't seem to heed his words as the four of them jumped up to balance atop the many bamboo poles jutting out of the springs. "Her, customers, what are you doing?! I have not finished my tragic story, you can't go there!" the guide called out to the group.

"Don't think we're going to go easy on you!" Kushina told the youngest pair of their group as her and Genma balanced on poles opposite Naruto and Ranma.

"Just the way I like it!" Ranma confidently said before jumping towards Kushina, launching the four into an aerial battle as they continued jumping from pole to pole. While this was happening their guide continued to warn them of the danger they were in only for his words to fall on deaf ears.

With a solid kick Naruto sent Genma spinning down into one of the springs below before coming to land on another bamboo pole. "Come on old man, if you can't do better than that then what's the point of this training?" the blond taunted as he waited for the man to resurface. When Genma did come back out of the spring Naruto, along with Kushina and Ranma, received quite the shock when it was not as a man but as a panda. "What the hell is that!?" Naruto loudly asked, pointing at Genma as his head turned to the Jusenkyo guide.

Holding a sign in his hands reading "Shonmaoniichuan" the guide informed them "That one Shonmaoniichuan, spring of drown panda. Very tragic story of panda who drown 2000 year ago. Legend say who ever fall in spring take body of panda".

"You couldn't have said something like that sooner?" Naruto yelled at the man just before hearing his mother shout at Genma. Unfortunately her words came to late as the man turned panda got behind the distracted blond and sent him flying into a spring of his own.

After running up to the spring the guide said "Oh, too bad, you fall in Nyannichuan". Pulling out a sign with "Nyannichuan" on it the man then continued "Spring of drown girl. There very tragic legend of young girl who drown 1500 year ago. Now who ever fall in spring take the body of young girl, haha".

After coming up Naruto's hands slowly came up to squeeze the new additions on his chest. With a panicked expression he tentatively slipped a finger into the collar of his shirt and after pulling it out he let out a high pitched scream at the sight of his tits.

"We decided to part ways after that with the promise that we'd meet up here" Genma remarked after Kushina had finished telling the Tendo family about their bad luck.

Leaning over with her elbow on the table and her cheek in the palm of her hand Ranma turned her gaze to her old man before saying "You mean you tucked your tail between your legs and ran for the hills after Kushina got mad".

"What did you say?!" Genma asked his daughter as he jumped up from his seating position. "To disrespect your own father like that! I raised you be-Ghah!" Genma was saying when a swift kick from Kushina sent him flying into the koi-pond outside.

"The curse takes effect when ever they come in contact with cold water" Kushina told them as she readjusted her spot on the floor. Behind the woman Genma popped out of the pound in all of his white and black glory, his glasses hanging from one ear and his gi struggling to stay on his larger body without tearing. As Soun and his daughter's eyes were locked on the odd sight Kushina continued "An the only way to turn back to normal is with warm water, hence why Naruto became a boy again when I poured my coffee on him".

"He just had to find that training ground, even though he didn't speak a word of Chinese" Ranma muttered as Genma pulled himself out of the pound and walked back over to the others. He was irritated with Kushina treatment of him, but in the end this was much better than the outright anger she had for him back at Jusenkyo. Besides, out of their trio of friends Kushina was easily the strongest of them, he'd never win if he picked a fight with her.

Getting up with a few chuckles Soun made his way over to Naruto. Kneeling down he patted the boy on the shoulder while saying "Your problem isn't so bad after all, look". Turning the teen to his three daughters he proceeded to introduce them briefly and after telling Naruto their names and ages he told the boy "Pick any one you want, she'll be your new fiance".

Jerking her head out of her hand Ranma's attention immediately shot to Soun. "Are you still going on about that fiance crap?" the red haired girl questioned him as her anger grew again. Even still, her little outburst did nothing to stop Kasumi and Nabiki from presenting their little sister as the best option among them.

"Akane would seem the wisest choice" Kasumi said with her hands on Akane's right shoulder while Nabiki voiced her agreement with a hand on Akane's left shoulder.

"What? You're joking, why would I be?" Akane asked as her head turned to look at Nabiki.

"Because you hate boys don't you?" Nabiki quickly responded.

"Well I guess you're in luck Akane, Naruto's half girl" Kasumi told her little sister.

"Me, marry that guy?" Akane asked as her head turned to Kasumi. "Never!" the girl declared as he head turned once more, this time to stare at Naruto who didn't look any more happy about this then she did. In this whole back and forth she had with her sisters Akane also missed the growing annoyance on Ranma's face.

"If you're so opposed to it then I'll be his fiance!" Ranma declared with a slight glare directed at Akane and her left thumb jabbing into her own chest. This obviously earned her many surprised looks, none more so then the looks genma and Naruto were giving her.

"Ho-Hold on there Ranma!" Naruto started as his hands cam up in front of him. "You don't have to do something like that for my sake!" the blond told her, getting an annoyed Ranma to jerk her head in his direction.

"Your sake?" the girl questioned as she stood up, glaring down at the blond as she did so. "If it was just for your sake I never would've said something like that!" Ranma told the boy as she stomped over to him, making him feel quite small as she stared down at him. "You colossal idiot! We've been together our entire lives and you never once noticed how I felt?" Ranma asked Naruto, who by this point had been left to fend for himself since Soun had moved away from him.

As Naruto was struggling to come up with anything at all to say in response Akane quipped in with her own comment. "You two are perfect for each other" the young woman remarked as she folded her arms over her chest and turned her head to the side. She never asked for any of this so the sooner they can leave her out of it the better.

Leaning back up Ranma looked over her shoulder at the dark blue haired girl. "That's right, no one gets along better than us" Ranma told the girl, her annoyed expression having lessened greatly. Turning her body a little more in Akane's direction a smirk formed on Ranma's face as she added "And it doesn't hurt that I'm better looking then certain people".

This remark didn't go over well with Akane as she proceeded to grab the table and use it as a weapon, missing Ranma when she jumped to the side and resulting in her beating Naruto with the piece of furniture.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Ranma yelled at the girl.

"What's it look like?!" Akane responded as she made another attempt to hit Ranma with the table. She felt bad that Naruto got hit in the crossfire but right now she was too focused on Ranma to help the boy out.

With a sigh Kushina moved over so she could rest Naruto's unconscious head in her lap. 'This isn't going as smoothly as I would've hopped' the woman thought, running her fingers through Naruto's hair as she watched the two teens argue. She's got a lot of work cut out for her if she's to get these three on good terms with one another. Though on the bright side, if she got two fiances for her little boy she'd be able to stick it to those old geezers that much more.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, back with another chapter. I tried to get this chapter finished as quick as humanly possible but it didn't come easy. This one gave me a little more trouble than the usual chapter. Originally this was going to be about Naruto and Ranma's first day at Furinkan High, but after getting repeatedly stuck halfway through writing the chapter I came to the conclusion that I needed at least one more chapter before moving on to that part of the story. So, I ended up scrapping most of what I had written and starting over. It's a bit sad thinking about the work I put in only for it to lead to a dead end, but I honestly believe this to be the right choose for the story.**

 **I hope you all enjoy the chapter!**

 **(Marshalanime does not own Naruto or Ranma 1/2)**

It was early in the morning, the sun had only just risen across the horizon, and the morning mist still lingered along the streets of Nerima, the perfect conditions fro Akane to forget about yesterday while getting in some exercise. Unfortunately she wasn't alone on her morning run, making it difficult to forget about the day prior. Tailing her every step was the blond addition to the Tendo household, every corner she turned he followed and every time she sped up he did the same. It was really growing tiresome and so as she turned onto the street the dojo was on the girl spun around and launched a kick at the blond as he turned the corner.

"You could hurt someone doing that" Naruto commented as he ducked under Akane's kick. Since yesterday Naruto and Akane hadn't really talked, mostly because her and Ranma spent so much time argue. When he saw her heading out for a morning jog he had hoped that they could find something to talk about but the girl was trying to lose him from the start.

"I thought you could handle a strong hit!" Akane rebutted as her foot planted itself back on the ground and she used her other leg to lash out at the blond. Jumping over her leg Naruto landed on top the wall next to them.

"Come on Akane, I'm just trying to be friendly. We were getting along well before all of that marriage stuff came up" Naruto said to the girl, looking down at her as he knelt on top of the wall.

"Oh I'm sorry if that putts a little strain on our relationship" Akane told him, the stress she was feeling evident in every word that came out of her mouth. Pulling herself the girl took a deep breath before turning to head for her house. "Besides, I thought you were a girl" Akane told the blond as she walked away from him. She just wanted to relax and forget about all of this but the sound of Naruto landing beside her let her know that wasn't going to happen.

"Well what's that got to do with anything? I'm still the same person you know?" Naruto asked as he walked beside the girl. The engagement was a load of shit in his mind but that didn't mean he wanted to argue and fight with Akane because of it.

"Still the same person you had fun sparing with" the blond sad with a big grin as he folded his arms behind his head. "And you know what?" he asked as he looked over to the girl next to him and getting her to look back at him. "I had fun too" Naruto happily told her.

Akane was really starting to hate that smile, it was just so hard to stay mad when she sees a sigh Akane turned her head back forward, "Fine, but don't think I'm ever going to marry you".

"I hear you loud and clear" Naruto told her as they passed through the main gate, only for the blond to be doused in cold water. For a moment the sound of a metal bucket falling to the ground was the only sound that passed between the two as Naruto stood there soaked to the bone in his feminine figure.

"Figured you could use a little cooling off after your run" Ranma passive aggressively remarked as she laid across the archway with her knee propped up and her head resting in the palm of her hand.

Staring down at the bulge in his shirt Naruto put on a strained smile. "Th-Thanks..." Naruto managed to get out. It was going to be one of those days wasn't it?

With the bath filled with warm, soothing water Naruto slipped down till all but his head was submerged, reverting back to his male body. On the other side of the room, passed the fogged glass his wet clothes were spinning around in the dryer.

Feeling his muscles unwind Naruto's mind started to drift to his red haired friend. Since they parted in China the boy had been looking forward to seeing her again, but after yesterday they were getting along about as well as him and Akane were. Well, perhaps that's not accurate, he was probably getting along better with Akane at the moment.

Ranma's words once more ran through his head, "We've been together our entire lives and you never once noticed how I felt?".

'Oh boy, this is a mess' the blond teen thought as he sunk down to the point that his mouth went under water. Not once in his live has he ever thought of Ranma as anything other than, well, Ranma. Sure, he knew she was a girl, he knew she was pretty, she wasn't the best cook but she always tried her best, she trained just as hard if not harder then he did, they got along perfectly most days and even stayed by each other's side when they had an argument, but thinking of her as a woman was odd to Naruto. Ranma was his best friend and the closest thing he's ever had to a sister, to suddenly consider her as a potential wife left a weird swirling feeling in his gut.

Jerking up Naruto's hands shot up to pull on his hair. "Ghaa! Why is this happening?" the blond let out in frustration. Everything was so much simpler before they came here, even with the Jusenkyo curse.

While Naruto was struggling to figure out what he was going to do about his relationship with Ranma the other members of the house were continuing with their morning.

As she walk to the small sitting room/dinning room Nabiki came up to Genma as he sat on the wooden walkway. The man had welts and bruises covering the visible parts of his body as he sat there staring into the back yard. In the room behind him sat Soun as Kasumi brought out the food she had prepared. "What happened to you?" Nabiki asked the man.

Keeping his eyes on the two red heads sparing around the koi-pound the man simply answered "Ranma's in a bad mood".

Turning her head to look at the fight as well Nabiki's younger sister, Akane, walked in from the opposite end of the walkway. For someone lacking any martial arts training like Nabiki the best she could make out every time Kushina and Ranma clashed with one another was a blur of movement, their arms and legs moving so fast that she couldn't tell whether they were punching or kicking.

Akane could make out more than her sister could, but the speed at which the two were fighting even she had difficulty seeing most of their strikes. As she watched them she was reminded of her spar with Naruto the day prior, more specifically his first punch. If she hadn't moved on instinct she would've been hit without question. This thought left an uneasy feeling in the girl. She knew that there were bound to be people stronger than her, but for someone her own age to have that kind of strength.

"Ms. Uzumaki. Ranma, let's have some breakfast shall we?" Kasumi called out to the two red heads as she started to set the table.

Catching Ranma's fist Kushina lifted the girl up before flipping her over to the house. "Okay Ranma, that's enough for now" Kushina told the teen as the younger red head landed on her feet. The woman had been trying to help Ranma burn off steam like she usually did when she got upset. The thing is though, this time Kushina felt a bit of responsibility for the girl's temper. She had thought about telling them that they could both marry her son but that probably wont help either of them feel better right now. Maybe once everyone has gotten settled in she'll bring it up?

"Yeah, yeah" Ranma responded as her body relaxed. As she turned to head to the table the girl's eyes landed on Naruto as the boy walked into the room before her, his hair still damp from his bath.

Saying his good morning to everyone the blond took a seat at one of the tables corners as Ranma took a seat to his immediate left and Akane sat down to his right on the other side of the table's corner. On one side Naruto could feel the silent anger coming from Ranma despite her ordinary behavior. That was too be expected, he really made her mad this time around after all. Naruto had been prepared for that so didn't let it get too him too much, but what caught him off guard where the repeated looks Akane kept giving him. It was difficult for Naruto to pinpoint what her expression was, anger, no, joy, no, confusion, eh, perhaps but probably not. What ever it was something was on her mind.

Every time Naruto looked to meet her Akane would turn her head away and every time Naruto looked back to his plate she's try to steel another glance at him. This did not go unnoticed by the others who watched as the two went back and forth like this. For Soun and Kushina optimistic thought started to run through their heads while on the other side of the spectrum Ranma's mood seemed to worsen every time the two turned their heads to one another.

Eventually Naruto had enough of wondering and made an attempt to ask Akane what she was doing, only to be cut off with a yelp as Ranma's chopsticks jabbed into the blond's hand. Turning to the red haired girl Naruto all but shouted out "What do you think you're doing?" as he clutched his hand. With this turn of events both Soun and Kushina's expressions fell.

"Oh, silly me, I wasn't paying attention" Ranma commented with an sweet, innocent smile.

"Why you!" Naruto muttered under his breath as his eyes narrowed at the girl. Best friend or not he wasn't going to sit here and let her walk all over him! As Naruto stood up, ready to launch himself into the girl, Ranma let a smirk play out across her lips. If there was anyone she wanted to beat the snot out of right now it was Naruto and it looks like he's more than willing to take her on.

"You want to take me on?" Ranma asked with a wide grin as she got up from the table. "Then come get some!" the red haired teen told him as she jumped out side, spinning on her heel the moment it touched the yard so that she was facing him.

"I'm not going to hold back you know!" Naruto growled out as he ran outside after her. As the two of them started trading blows in a flurry of fists and kicks everyone's attention, save for Genma and Kushina, turned to the pair.

"Quite energetic aren't they" Kasumi remarked with an angelic smile.

"Yes, quite" Soun said as he turned his head to Genma. The sight of the injures Ranma inflicted on her own father had the man worrying for the boy, a concern he needn't voice for his friend to pick up on.

"Their arguments usually end in a fight. Just let them get it out of their system and they'll be back to nornal by lunch" Genma told Soun as he shoved a slice of omelet into his mouth. Nodding his head Soun conveyed his understanding.

Out of all of them Akane had her attention fixed on the two teens more than anyone else. Watching them intently she refused to even blink, but try as she might she still couldn't track every other kick, every other punch, every other movement made by the pair. Without a doubt Naruto held back when he had a sparring match with her. Was she so weak that he felt it was necessary to go easy on her? As the thought ran through her head Akane's brows furrowed. She was a martial artist, she didn't want to be seen as weak.

Pulling her gaze away from the two jumping around her backyard Akane's eyes landed on the woman contently eating across from her. It was in that moment that she came to a conclusion. If she was going to improve then she needed a teacher who could help her excel.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello once again. I've got chapter four ready to go so I hope you all enjoy it!**

 **(Marshalanime does not own Naruto or Ranma 1/2)**

"School?" Ranma questioned as she and Naruto sat in front of her father and Kishina in their room. Sure, she'd gone through grade and middle school so it wasn't too much of a problem, but the suddenness of this caught her off guard a bit. At least she was taking it better than Naruto given the look on his face.

"What do we need to go to school for? It's just going to cut into our training!" the blond firmly let the two adults know how he felt as his hands folded over his chest. It was bad enough when they put him through middle school, now they were trying to do the same with high school? It's not like he was going to get an office job later in life.

"You'll be staying here for a while Naruto, and in this world kids your age go to school. So just suck it up and go" Genma told the boy. Last time they enrolled the blond some where he kept ditching class for the first two weeks. It got to the point where he and Kushina had to chase the boy down and haul his ass to school everyday. Eventually he started going by himself but they'd rather not have a repeat of that.

"You're going, end of discussion" Kushina said with a stern look as she tossed the two their school bags. "You'll be going to the same school as Nabiki and Akane, so if you don't show up I'll know right way" the woman warned the pair, directing her gaze at Naruto as she did so.

With one last dissatisfied look from Naruto as he clutched the brown back in front of his chest the boy gave in. With a sigh he stood up, slinging the bag over his shoulder. "I got, I'll go" Naruto said as he moved towards the door. Following Naruto's lead Ranma too got up and left.

Since neither of them knew where Furinkan High was Akane ended up walking them to school, leading to their current situation. Walking along the river Ranma chose to walk along the chain-link fence, staying a few paces behind with her eyes looked on Naruto and Akane in front of her. The two girls hadn't gotten into a fight since the first night but they were far from being on friendly terms, mostly because Ranma couldn't let go of the whole fiance thing hanging over the trio.

Then again, Akane wasn't exactly helping. "Just remember, we're strangers okay" Akane told the pair as she walked on, her head focused on the road ahead of her.

"You're telling me?" Ranma remarked as she moved to be in line with the two of them. She had no intention of hanging out with the girl so it was a wast of breath on Akane's part.

"That's a little extreme, don't you think?" Naruto responded with a nervous grin as he walked between the two girls who clearly didn't want to be around each other. "We're friends, right?" the blond asked.

"Look, I don't need rumors starting up because you want to hang out during school" Akane told him as she turned her head to look at the two, Naruto more so than Ranma. "It's bad enough that our parents decided that we're fiances, I don't need the whole school finding out about it" Akane said.

"Okay, we'll just never bring that up!" Naruto cheerfully said.

"I-uh..." Akane tried to start as she gave the blond an odd look. Somehow she felt like he didn't quite get it.

Nothing much of interest happened along their way, even their conversations weren't much to speak of after that. That was, until they reached Furinkan High. As the big clock and main gates came into view Akane's expression became determined and fierce as her pace quickened. Too Naruto and Ranma's surprise a mob of boys ranging from sumo wrestlers to boxers, fencers to tennis players, track and field to hockey players all rushed out of the main gate declaring their love for one Akane Tendo. As the first few reached their target Akane made short work of them, deflecting blows with her school bag and knocking them down with a hit or two. After running past the main gate Akane's troubles only increased as she came face to face with more wannabe suitors.

As she continued to fight her way through the group Ranma chose to get a good view by hopping onto the stone wall surrounding school property. Naruto on the other hand ran straight into the thick of it. He hadn't the slightest clue as to what was going on but he wasn't about to stand on the sideline.

So focused on her multitude of opponents Akane that hadn't noticed Naruto's involvement in the fight until one teen flew past her shoulder and into another on his way to swing at Akane. Taking a step back to avoid a tennis racket Akane ended up with her back pressed against Naruto's. "Stay out of this! I can handle it on my own!" Akane told the blond teen as they fought off the oncoming students.

"Stay out of it?" the blond asked, looking over his shoulder at the girl as he knocked a guy to his ass with a firm punch to the jaw. "How can you expect me to stay out of this?" Naruto asked her as ducked under a hockey stick and jabbed the man holding it in the gut.

"It's okay Naruto! This happens every morning!" the blond heard a reply, but not from Akane. With a quick glance he saw Nabiki along with her two friends watching the fight from their classroom on the second floor.

"Every morning!?" the blond blurted out as he and Akane each took care of another student with powerful kicks. Why would something like this happen every morning? It's a bit much just to get to home room.

As the last man fell Akane's foot came to rest safely on the ground as she fixed her hair. "Honestly, you think they'd learn by now" the girl commented.

Turning to face the girl Naruto wasted no time in asking her about what exactly happened. Though annoyed with her daily routine Akane couldn't a single reason to leave the blond out of the dark. Opening her mouth to tell the boy her attention was soon diverted away. With a quick hand Akane grabbed something hurled through the air, a red rose plucked at the height of its beauty. It took only one look at red petals for Akane's mood to drop even further. There was only one person she knew who's do this.

As Akane let out a grown the owner of the rose stepped out from behind one of the trees in the courtyard. "Unearthlier happy is the rose distilled,  
Than that which withering on the virgin thorn. Grows, lives and dies in single blessedness" the tall teen said as dark clouds rolled in overhead. His brown hair hair was short with his bangs barely coming to his eyebrows. He wore a kendo uniform with black pants and a blue top and in his right hand was held a wooden practice sword.

"These... weaklings, such a boorish lot, truly. They fought to the privilege of your company Akane, if they managed to defeat you that is. What fools these mortals be" the man said as the clouds above grew thicker and thicker. Opening his eyes he directed his wooden blade at Naruto, "And yet you, you chose not to challenge Akane but to defeat her suitors. Do you think such methods will gain you her affection?".

Since he began to speak Naruto found himself unable to do anything but watch in bewildered amusement. In his years he'd met and even befriended some odd individuals, this guy certainty had a place in that group.

"Man, aren't you popular" Ranma commented with a smirk as she jumped down neck to Naruto and Akane, finished with watching from her perch. Akane, while not on the same level as her or Naruto, was a pretty good fighter. Ranma would never admit it, but the girl had some potential.

"Who asked you to butt in?" Akane asked with a sideways glance at the red head.

"Who do you think you are, insolent welp? Tell me how you know Akane!" the sword wielding teen demanded to know off the blond standing next to his beloved Akane. Sticking his thumb up and pointing it at himself Naruto was just starting to introduce himself before the man cut him off. "Wait...! Is it not custom to give one's own name first? Fine then! Mine I shall give! I am the undefeated captain of this schools kendo club, the rising new star of the highschool fencing world. The sound of my voice strikes fear into my enemies" the man said as he raised his wooden sword to the sky. "My peers call me the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" he said as lighting flashed through the sky behind him. "Tatewaki Kuno. Age seventeen" Tatewaki told the blond who was stunned into silence along with his red haired friend by the display.

"Did he just call himself "Blue Thunder"?" Nabiki's orange haired friend asked.

"Have you heard that?" her short haired friend asked.

"Nope. It's news to me" Nabiki told her. The man had been in the same class as her for a while now but his stupidity was still stupefying to her.

"Last I heard, he was calling himself "Shooting Star"" the short hared girl remarked.

"Okay Tatewaki, my name's Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage and heir to the Uzumaki clan!" Naruto told the teen with a confident look on his face. "My mom knows Akane's dad so we're staying with her family for a while" the blond informed the young man, though it was not information Kuno wanted to hear.

"Staying with the Tendo's!? Under the same roof as Akane!?" Kuno all but yelled out as he gripped his blade with both hands and charged the blond.

"That's what I said" Naruto told him as he jumped over Kuno's swing and making a flip through the air as he landed behind the man. "Something wrong with that?" the blond asked as he glanced over his shoulder.

"Why you!" Kuno gritted out as he spun around, only to miss again.

"Hey check it out, someone's trying to take on Kuno" Nabiki's orange haired friend commented.

"Talk about living dangerously" Nabiki's other friend remarked as the rest of their class rushed over to the windows. Kuno may be, well, Kuno, but he was still one of the, if not the strongest students at Furinkan High. For someone to challenge the guy, that is quite the rare event.

Staring off against the blond, Kuno began to speak "The vengeance of heaven is slow but sure... So you've been hounding Akane eh? I, Tatewaki Kuno, shall bring you to justice".

"You sure you're alright in the head?" Naruto asked the guy as he tapped himself on the head. Seriously, if he's going to fight then fight. Naruto's not hear to listen to some delusional idiot.

"I don't know, you have been getting pretty close to little Akane here" Ranma remarked, folding her arms behind her back as she looked off to the side.

"He has not!" Akane immediately responded as she turned on the girl, her clenched hand raised in frustration.

"You retch!" Kuno shouted as he once more rushed the blond. As his wooden blade came down it found it's path stopped not by Naruto's body, but by metal. Cutting into the wood due to the force of Kuno's swing was a kunai held up by the blond.

"Wow, you really do have some strength in that swing of yours" Naruto commented as droplets of rain started to hit the ground around them. He was honestly surprised by the man, though his first impressions didn't put the bare very high.

'He's good' Kuno thought as his eyes narrowed at the blond teen. Pulling his blade back Kuno made a horizontal wing only for the blond to once more jump over it. Continuing to swing at top speed Kuno fund that he couldn't land a single hit as Naruto's feet landed in the same spot after every doge.

As the two fought the sky above them finally let loose as the rain poured down in sheets, soaking anyone who didn't have cover to hide under.

With a splash Naruto's feet once more landed on the ground. "Sorry Tatewaki, but mom will kill me if I'm late on the first day of school so I'm ending this here" the blond said as he went in for a finishing blow. That would be the case, if the look on Kuno's face didn't cause him to hesitate. Seeing his confused expression Naruto too grew confused. "Hey, what's wrong? Aren't you going to fight?" Naruto asked after the guy lowered his sword.

Leaning in Kuno put a strain on Naruto's personal space as he looked the blond up and down. There was no question about it, the person standing in front of him was a girl. After a moment he looked Naruto in the eyes and asked "Who are you?".

Hearing him Naruto's eye started to twitch. With a single uppercut that sent Kuno flying Naruto cried out in annoyance "Are you an idiot? How many times do I have to say it? My names Naruto Uzumaki!".

As Kuno landed with a splash Ranma walked past her blond friend, telling him to hurry up. With Ranma, Naruto, and Akane heading for the school building the students who had been watching were left in silence. Not only was Kuno defeated, rather easily, but the one to beat him had given them a glimpse of something unbelievable.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again, I've got chapter five finished and ready to go! This chapter isn't too different from Cannon but it does move the story forward. I have plans for the next few chapters that should mix things up more so please look forward to that. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

 **(Marshalanime does not own Naruto or Ranma 1/2)**

"It would seem we have two new students here, their names are Ranma Saotome and Naruto Uzumaki. They've just returned from a trip to China so let's all give them a warm ni hao welcome" the home room teacher said as the two stood next to his desk. As he read from the paper on his desk his eyes would keep glancing over to the blond. 'It's probably a typo' the man thought to himself, after all, despite being marked as a boy it was clear that Naruto was a girl, right?

As the two gave brief introductions Akane was left in her seat listening to her classmates whisper about the cute new girls, a hopeful atmosphere from the guys as they thought of getting close and asking them out while it was simple interest from the girls. 'Ha, just wait till you find out that she's a guy' Akane thought to herself as she sat at her desk with an uninterested look, though if one looked close they'd be able to find a hint of annoyance in her expression.

As the two of them headed for the desks the teacher assigned them the classes attention was split as half of them followed Ranma while the other half followed Naruto. Coming to an empty seat in the row beside Akane and two desks up the blond paused to give the girl a smile and a small wave. After that Akane shrunk down in her seat, hoping that no one noticed as the blond sat down.

"Fiance?! He's... her fiance?!" Kuno questioned while trembling in rage. Everyone in class was staring at him but that didn't matter to Tatewaki Kuno after the information he'd just received.

"Uh-hu, his mom and my daddy decided it, Akane's going to marry Naruto" Nabiki told the teen sitting next to her after a small pause.

"nnnnggghhHHAAAA! Not Naruto!" Kuno yelled out as he threw his hands up in the air. Of all the unthinkable atrocities he could think of this was by far the worst. He may have continued into a rant, but a stick of chalk thrown by the teacher had the teen calm down to a degree as he was told to go stand in the hall.

It was barely half-way into the first lesson and Naruto was already board out of his mind. The teacher's words blurred into one another as the blond's thoughts started to drift. If he was lucky something interesting will happen.

It was shortly after Naruto had lost all interest in the lesson when the door was slammed open by one Tatewaki Kuno. "Where is Naruto Uzumaki!?" the teen demanded to know as he walked into the class, disrupting the teacher's lecture as he scanned the classroom.

With his wish granted Naruto's attention returned to reality now that something was happening. "What do you want this time Tatewaki?" Naruto aked the guy as he turned his head to look at him.

Dropping the two buckets of water he had supported on his wooden sword Kuno's gaze went to the blond. "You!" the man said as he pointed his blade at Naruto. As the rest of the class began to wonder what Kuno could want with their classmate Naruto stood up from his desk with a smirk. If Kuno wanted a rematch then he'll gladly give it to him. "Spiky haired girl, where is Naruto Uzumaki?" the man asked, nearly getting the entire class to fall flat on their faces.

"You dumbass!" Naruto blurted out as he rushed over to the man. Of all the idiotic people Naruto's met in his live Kuno had to be right up there at the top of the list. "I'm standing right here you moron!" Naruto yelled into the man's face, standing on his tiptoes in order to do so.

"Forgive me spiky haired girl, I can not give you my attention at this crucial moment. Naruto Uzumaki's engagement to my dear Akane is too great an issue to ignore" Kuno told Naruto as he paced his free hand on the blond's shoulders. Of course, hearing this grabbed Naruto, Akane, and Ranma's attention, and unfortunately the attention of the class as well.

"Shut up!" Naruto hissed through clenched teeth as he reached up to cover Kuno's mouth with his hands, though the damage was already done. Both Naruto and Akane were soon surrounded by the other students.

"Oh! Is that true Akane?"

"I never knew you had it in ya!"

"A girl huh? Guess that explains why you never had a boyfriend"

"Not even here for a day and you're already causing an uproar, good for you man-er-girl!"

"So much for asking the blond out"

As the two of them were being swamped with all of the questions and comments Akane tried desperately to calm everyone down and explain that it was just something their parents had decided but by this point her words and soft smile weren't going to get through to them. Scanning the room Naruto looked for anything that could help him, though the only thing he could see apart from the students grouped around him was Ranma. The girl was still sitting at her desk and when she noticed Naruto's pleading look she simply smiled and waved at him. So much for her help.

With an annoyed look on his face Naruto turned his attention back to Kuno as he was trying to remove the blond's hands from his mouth. This was all his fault, if he hadn't barged in here and blabbed about the engagement then this would've been an ordinary day. Ignoring the fact that he had been hoping for something other than an ordinary day not five minuted earlier Naruto let go of Kuno and jumped over the other students to land in the doorway. "You want Naruto? Fine! I'll go get him!" Naruto told Kuno, glancing over his shoulder before running out of the room and down the hall.

"Spiky haired girl, wait!" Kuno called out as he pushed his way passed the other students. "If it means finding Naruto Uzumaki then I, Tatewaki Kuno, would follow you to the ends of the Earth!" Kuno proclaimed as he left the room. Running in the direction Naruto went Kuno was soon being followed by the other students who wanted to see how this turned out.

In the end only Akane and Ranma were left in the room as their teacher called out for the other students to keep the noise down. For a moment Akane just stood in the empty classroom, dumbfounded by what just happened. Once everything had settled in her mind the first thing to come out of Akane's mouth was "They have got to be kidding!".

"What are you so upset for?" Ranma asked as she walked up next to the girl.

"What am I upset for?!" Akane questioned as her head jerked towards Ranma. "Everyone thinks I'm engaged to a girl! That's what I'm upset about!" Akane told the red haired girl.

After giving Akane a playful smirk Ranma turned to head towards the door. "Look on the bright side, most of the guys you have to fight every morning will probably give up after hearing about it" Ranma said with an internal snicker, only to receive a desk thrown at the back of her head for the remark.

Stepping over to the downed girl Akane gave her a sharp glare before soon muttering "Idiot".

It didn't take too much for Naruto to lose Kuno, a simple turn of the corner before jumping out the window and reentering through another window on the floor below and there was no way he'd find the blond quickly. With plenty of time on his hands Naruto took his time searching for the nearest bathroom, once found he went into the men's side without a second thought.

As the door closed behind him Naruto was met with the sight of two male students blankly staring at him as they stood in front of the urinals. "Yo" the blond made a quick greeting before making a B-line for the sink. As he turned on the hot water the two guys behind him frantically pulled up their pants before running out of the bathroom.

Back with Kuno, his search for Naruto had taken both him and the other students outside to the open area surrounded by practice spots for the school's various sports clubs. Clenching his hands in frustration Kuno's head raised to the sky as he bellowed out "Naruto Uzumaki you coward! You can't hide forever!".

"Who's hiding?" Naruto's voice carried over the area. Naruto was met with mostly confused expressions as everyone turned their heads to the grassy slope he was standing on.

"Finally showing your face I see" Kuno remarked as he stepped forward and readied his wooden blade. Behind the swordsman Naruto's classmates where talking among themselves as they voiced their confusion with this male Naruto.

"I never hid it in the first place" Naruto told him as he walked down to the dirt field. "Honestly, I get caught in a little rain and you forget who I am" the blond said, getting an annoyed glare from Kuno. "Listen up!" Naruto said as he raised his right hand, pointing straight up. "Whether I'm a guy or girl I'm Naruto Uzumaki, remember that!" Naruto announced as his arm swung down to point at Kuno.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Don't even attempt to change the topic for I, Tatewaki Kuno, will rescue Akane from your foul clutches, you cur!" Kuno shouted.

'Hmph, 'foul clutches' he says. This guy's delusional' Naruto thought with a sigh. This whole situation was to much for him to even get annoyed like he normally would. "Fine, fine, let's just get this over with" the blond said as he rested his hands behind his head. If this was anything like earlier then it shouldn't take too long.

"Don't take me lightly!" Kuno yelled as he rushed the blond, only to be sent flying by swift kick to his chin. Landing roughly on his back behind the crowd of students Kuno made an attempt to get back up but in the end he feel back down and slipped into unconsciousness.

"That was hardly worth the effort to find them" Ranma commented as her and Akane stood off to the side of the field, watching as Naruto did his best to explain his curse to their bewildered classmates. "Happy? Now everyone knows you're engaged to a man who only turns into a girl. That's so much better than marrying a real girl" Ranma said, taking a step back after seeing Akane's angry expression, but keeping her grin all the same. "I'll take him off your hands if it's too much for ya" Ranma happily said, looking over her shoulder at Akane as she ran towards the other students.

"You can have him!" Akane yelled at the girl. One day, they couldn't even go one day without everyone in school finding out about that stupid engagement!


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello again, I'm back with chapter six! It might be a bit on the short side but I hope you all enjoy it! This chapter is the start of an idea I've had since I started thinking about this story. There's a character in the world of Ranma 1/2 that, under the circumstances of this stories world, has no reason to wait till later in the story to show up. I've been working out how I should bring them into the story and I think this is the best way.  
**

 **(Marshalanime does not own Naruto or Ranma 1/2)**

Kushina, while being a single mother who hasn't officially worked in years, was quite the busy woman. She was use to being the responsible one of the group who watched out for the others, cooked most of the meals, made sure everything was neat and tide, and all of that and more on top of being Naruto and Ranma's instructor alongside Genma. Now that they were living with the Tendo's she'd have to get use to sharing this work load with Soun's eldest daughter, Kasumi Tendo. It felt odd to the woman, sitting there on the walkway with a cup of hot tea sitting next to her as she watched someone else take care of the laundry. Heaven knows how many times she had to fight tooth and nail just to get Ranma or Naruto to help her do it, making this situation even more alien to her.

You'd think it'd be normal to take this kind of opportunity to just sit back, relax, and enjoy a day like this, but without Ranma or Naruto around she found herself without anything to do. In other words, she was board. "Kasumi, is there anything you need me to do?" Kushina asked the young woman as she moved her head to rest in the palms of her hands whit her elbows resting on her thighs.

Pausing as she hung up one of Kushina's dresses Kasumi looked over her shoulder at the red haired woman watching her, a thoughtful look on her face. "Well... I'm not sure there's I need, but if you're looking for something to do then, I guess you could go out and pick some things up for dinner" Kasumi told the woman.

"Just leave it all to me!" Kushina responded, quickly standing up with a smile on her face. It's been years since she went to the shopping district so it'll be fun to see it again.

"Okay, just give me a minute and I'll jot down what we need" Kasumi told the woman, happy to see her so full of energy.

As Kushina walked from shop to shop looking for the best prizes and chatting with the owners her mind started to wonder. 'It really has been a long time, hasn't it?' Kushina thought to herself as she looked around at all of the new buildings and shops, a warm smile gently gracing her lips as she thought of past memories. The last time she was in this part of town was when her and Minato had visited Soun and his family. She was already pregnant with Naruto during that visit, but they wouldn't have know that for another four days after that. Kasumi and Nabiki were so little back then, it's no wonder neither of them really remember her.

"You're a natural, Minato. You'd make a wonderful father" Mrs. Tendo, a woman with gentle features and short, slightly curvy sky blue hair told her blond friend. She was sitting in the parlor with him and Kushina and had given Nabiki to Minato to hold for a bit.

Sitting there with the young girl cradled in his arms the man gave her a sheepish grin. "You really think so?" Minato asked the woman with a faint tinge of pink on his cheeks. "I'd be lying if I said I'd never thought of it" Minato told her.

"Not so fast there mister" Kushina said to her husband with a playful smirk as she leaned over and gently flicked his forehead, getting his attention. "I'm the one who has to give birth before you become anyone's father" Kushina said with mirth as Minato blinked a few times and looked into her violet eyes. Kushina had thought about what it'd be like to have a child herself, but she wasn't about to let this chance to tease her darling go to waste.

"Well I think you'd both make wonderful parents" Mrs. Tendo told them as her oldest daughter came into the room. "I can already picture it, our children will be the closest of friends, I'm sure of it" the woman said as Kasumi stumbled over to her mother and Mrs. Tendo's hand came up to pat her head as the young girl clung to her mother's dress.

"Of course they will!" Kushina happily told the woman. "We'll bring our little girl over to play all he time" the red haired woman said with a big grin from just thinking about it.

"Girl?" Minato questioned as he looked at his wife while Nabiki softly yawned in his arms.

Seeing the look on his face had Kushina stifling a laugh. "I've got a fifty-fifty chance of being right, don't I?" Kushina remarked, getting blank looks from both Minato and Mrs. Tendo.

After a moment Mrs. Tendo's hand came up to cover her mouth in an attempt to cover up her chuckle. "If you have a daughter then Minato might just worry himself ragged with all the boys she's bound to attract" the woman told them.

Folding her arms Kushina nodded. "She'd be a handful alright" Kushina said, getting another chuckle from her friend as Minato sat by her with a strained smile. He wanted to be a father, but there were some things the man looked forward to more than others.

Kushina's eyes began to moisten at the thought of her late husband and deceased friend and her hand came up to wipe away the fledgling tears. The last time she had walked down this street was during that visit when her and Mrs. Tendo went out to pick up some ingredients. After what happened on the day Naruto was born Kushina had become to weak and sickly to safely leave the village for quite a number of years. As a result that was one of the last times she had seen her friend.

With her eyes dried, for the most part, Kushina turned her head up to the sparsely clouded sky above. 'I doubt it's the way you pictured it, but Naruto's finally getting to know your daughters. Fortunately I didn't have to worry about girls flocking around him, even if he took after Minato in the looks department. It's probably good for Akane too since they might get married. If everything goes well that is. Doesn't that sound wonderful? Oh, I guess I should mention that Genma's little girl is getting to know them too. She has a crush on Naruto so there's a little tension between her and Akane, but I'm sure they'll be inseparable once they get to know each other' Kushina told her old friend as she looked up at the vast sky while people walked by her with a few odd glances her way.

Lowering her head a small smile graced her lips as the woman lightly shook her head, her red locks of hair gently swaying with the movement. 'What am I thinking? If you could hear me from a place like this then you'd already know that' Kushina thought to herself, feeling a little silly. 'I need to pick up the rest of these items' Kushina told herself as she started to walk again.

'Hmm... Ranma...' the woman thought as she passed by a few more stalls. With all of this thought about the Tendo family Kushina had almost forgotten about the Saotome side of things. 'I wonder how Nodoka is? The last time I saw her was before our trip to China' the Uzumaki woman started to think as she walked up to a stall run by an elderly woman with a welcoming smile and hand carved cane.

Ever since her health had improved enough for her to leave Konoha Kushina had been paying regular visits to Nodoka Saotome, even getting into the habit of ferrying letters between her and Ranma after a few of her visits where she'd talked about how the young girl had been doing. Kushina could still fondly remember the time when Nodoka had opened up one of Ranma's latter to find that the girl had slipped a picture of herself in for her mother. Nodoka was so happy to see her little girl, even in picture form, that she cried tears of joy. Kushina then took a photo of Nodoka after the woman told her that she wanted Ranma to have one of her so that she'd always remember her dear mother.

"Genma, you idiot" Kushina said under her breath as the old woman tending the stall handed her her change.

"What was that missy?" the old woman asked, holding a hand up to her ear to hear better.

"Eh?" blinking in surprise Kushina stared at the woman as she pocketed the change. "Oh, it's nothing really, just talking to myself" Kushina told the woman with a short wave of her hand.

"Ah, I see" the old woman responded with a big grin. "I can relate! Yep, I can relate!" the woman told her as she placed both hands on her cane. Leaning over the counter the woman gave Kushina a mischievous look. "Sooo, tell me missy, what's on your mind?" the woman asked.

"Oh, no, it's really not that interesting" Kushina told the woman with a gentle smile. not really wanting to get into something like this with a complete stranger.

"That so?" the granny responded, her enthusiasm pittering out as she leaned back to stand straight up behind the counter. "Well, if you ever need an ear to talk off you know where to find me" the woman told her.

"I'll keep that in mind" Kushina told the woman as she left the small store.

Back on the street and left to her thought again Kushina's mind went back to her friend's family. As much as she didn't wan to admit it, she could understand why Genma took Ranma with him when she was so young. He wanted her to grow up into a skilled and powerful fighter, but to keep daughter and mother from seeing each other at all was beyond Kushina's ability to understand. Had she not been stuck in a hospital bed at the time she would've tracked him down and hauled him back to Nodoka before and after beating the living hell out of him. Often Kushina had thought about just taking Ranma with her on one of her visits but there was always something that came up, preventing her from reuniting the two.

As the thought passed through Kushina's mind her eyes widened and she came to a sudden stop again. Ranma was going to be staying at the Tendo residence for a while and Nodoka's house wasn't too far away. Realizing that she's never had a better chance to bring Ranma and Nodoka together a wide smile spread across Kushina's face.

Picking up her pace Kushina was practically floating on air as she worked to get the shopping done quickly. The sooner she can get everything back home the sooner she can go get Nodoka and the less time anything has of ruining this. Just thinking of the moment the two finally meet face to face made Kushina giddy.


End file.
